Clay Helton on Monday was appointed as permanent head coach of the USC Trojans after he signed a multiyear contract, athletic director Pat Haden announced via a school release.
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Helton guided the troubled Trojans (8-4, 5-3) to five victories and a Pac-12 South title in his seven-week tenure after taking over for Steve Sarkisian, making him 6-2 in two interim stints at USC over the past three years. USC routed UCLA 40-21 on Saturday, clinching the division and its first trip to the conference championship game.
There are plenty of pros for keeping Helton. The Trojans are a four-point underdog entering into the contest. The Trojans still have two more games to play as they take on Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game (whom USC lost to at the start conference play, 41-31) and then their bowl game.
Helton had been an assistant at USC since 2010, working as the offensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin and Sarkisian.
“The big thing that he always wants to do is everything that he can do to help the team”, Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
The Trojans were the more physical team against UCLA, a program that has staked its identity on employing a rugged style since Mora’s arrival in 2012.
Helton’s job still might turn out to be temporary, but it also isn’t finished. Amid questions about the future of a program that has struggled for the six years since the departure of Pete Carroll and the arrival of NCAA sanctions, that future now looks solid. Building bonds gave Helton’s resume further validity, evident in the impassioned pitches players made for his candidacy. At USC, he coached record-setting quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Cody Kessler. We have a man with unquestioned integrity.
Reserve quarterback Max Browne also endorsed Helton’s hiring because he will have his quarterback coach supervising him for his entire college career.
McCaffrey ranks second in the Pac-12 in rushing with 1,640 yards and his 136.7 yards/game average ranks seventh nationally.
The Trojans are set to face Stanford for the Pac-12 championship on Saturday. Both of Helton’s defeats (Notre Dame and Oregon) were by double-digits.
While Helton’s 5-2 record as interim coach may have foretold the possibility of permanent hire, some were surprised that the department chose not to opt for a glitzier, more regarded name in the industry.
“Thank you so much for giving Daddy the opportunity to do what he love”, he said to his kids.
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“[Players] can see through B.S.”, Kessler said before the announcement was made. He intercepted three passes against Utah, which ties him for the team lead with cornerback Iman Marshall. Tailback Justin Davis echoed the public thoughts of almost every player on the USC roster when he described Helton’s smooth assumption of the top job last month after Sarkisian was sacked.
